By: Ethan Cao
Oh no! The famous Winston Churchill Portrait has been stolen from a Canadian Hotel! The photograph is valued at about $473,000. The famous photographer Yousef Karsh took the portrait after Winston Churchill gave an electrifying speech. During the speech, the prime minister talked about the wartime efforts of the Canadian Army. He also spoke of the French army’s collapse and the French government’s failure in the war.
The robbery was revealed after an employee noticed the portrait’s frame did not match those in the hotel’s reading room. After looking at the picture, Jerry Fielder, the estate director, said, “I’ve seen that signature for 43 years. So it took me just one second to know someone had tried to copy it.”
The hotel manager suspects that it must have been a professional job. The Roaring Lion portrait was taken by a well-known photographer who is known for capturing the identity of Winston Churchill. Speaking to USA Today’s Saleen Martin, hotel manager Dumas says: “It would be sad to leave that piece of history and that iconic symbol somewhere [other than] where it belongs, which is here at the Fairmont Château Laurier.”
“We traveled so much it was difficult to keep up a big home,” Estrellita Karsh, Yousef’s wife, who is now 92, tells the Times. “I loved it because a hotel is like a little city.” Stealing the photograph is “a sad and stupid thing,” she adds. “I hope they apprehend the person.”. “The hotel is incredibly proud to house this stunning Karsh collection, which was securely installed in 1998,” Dumas said in a statement.
The missing portrait has left a mystery, but they will find the thief very soon, and he will be punished. Everything will be recovered and the famous portrait would finally be back home.